European Youth Week 2013: highlights

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the EU's youth programme, hundreds of events took place all over Europe during the European Youth Week.

From 26 May to 2 June, the Week highlighted the participation of young people in society in the context of the European Year of Citizens and the approaching 2014 elections to the European Parliament.

Highlights included a debate in Brussels where Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Doris Pack, chairwoman of the Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament, Frances Fitzgerald, Irish Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, discussed the role of young people in shaping their own communities and society.

The European Commission also hosted a conference with representatives from all 27 Member States, marking the start of a review of the Structured Dialogue with young people and youth organizations.

The YO!Fest organised by the European Youth Forum, in Brussels on 30 and 31 May, featured a whole range of events. Highlights included the launch of the League of Young Voters by President José Manuel Barroso, a campaign for increased youth participation in the 2014 European Parliament elections and a debate on the challenges for the EU's youth programmes.

You can check all the pictures from the European Youth Week as well as presentations from all 36 Youth in Action projects at the European Youth Facebook Page!